The Hat of Trouble

I am afraid that Emilia's evil devices against Catalina would have no end. Her latest plot to scatter the marriage of Catalina and Sebastian involved Carmelo. She asked Carmelo to lend her his trademark hat, and assured him that he would soon witness the destruction of Catalina.

Antoniete was cowed by the threat of Petra, she had to quickly soft-pedaled and changed her tactics with Lupe, though her goal was still the same.

She approached Lupe and offered him her hands of fellowship and cooperation. She proposed to Lupe to marry her, so they could live together for the rest of their lives as a loving couple. As usual Lupe rejected her, for the same reason he had always spurned her over the years: that she was a woman of easy virtues with a hideous past, just like his late wife, Matilda. He reminded her of her past evil tricks when she conjured up a pregnancy lie against him in order to trap him into marrying her. He walked her out of his ranch.

A tensed and troubled meeting of the three old maids (Josefa, Rufina and Petra), took place to review and investigate the latest happenings. Petra, the custodian of secrets, briefed the meeting why she went to threaten Antoniete with exposure and revelation of her living son. The purpose was to make Antoniete leave Lupe alone. Petra refused to disclose the secret son of Antoniete to them.

Catalina plastered Sebastian with sweet and tender kisses. She declared her sincere and unadulterated love for him. He doubted her sincere love, telling her that her kisses were a lie. She begged him to let the two of them go far away to live their life, apart from the adversaries that encamp around them.

The two lovers, entangled, began again and with fervor, ... landed on the bed, and ..., this time, they were on the verge of love-making, for the first time, but were interrupted by Panchito who came to knock their door, telling Sebastian that Lupe needs his attention.

That conjugal encounter was not to be, despite the promise of a wonderful romantic reschedule. Catalina began in earnest to prepare for the wonderful night of romantic encounter, her first true night! She went to church to thank the Blessed Virgin for the reconciliation between Sebastian and herself.

As she came out of the Cathedral, she saw and overheard the three old maids, one of them was asking the other to disclose who the secret son of Antoniete was. She was shocked to learn that Antoniete had a secret son.

Emilia swung into action and went to meet Catalina at home, as Catalina proudly told her to leave her alone because she had (FINALLY?) settled and reconciled with her husband Sebastian. In a moment of careless joy, Catalina left the room to pick some things, before she returned, the serpent (Emilia) planted the hat of Carmelo in the "matrimonial garden" (under the bed).

By the time Sebastine returned in the night, very eager and excited. Catalina invited him to eat his dinner, but he romantically replied her that she would be his dinner. They began kissing and as they reached the bed, he stood up to reposition himself, only to see Carmelo's hat under the bed.

That was how their romance and reconciliation night was brought to a sorrowful and dramatic end. He demanded to know how Carmelo's hat got under his bed. Catalina was shocked and lost for words because she too did not know how the strange hat of trouble found its way to the under-bed. He stormed out of the house and went to get drunk at the Cantina.

Vanity boy, Ricardo, went to lobby Eduardo to carry him with his car to the ranch, while he was doing that Silvia arrived, and Eduardo in panic, requested Ricardo to hide in the store. Patricia, Silvia's friend however saw the tricks and challenged Eduardo for hiding his secret lover, (a blond? woman?), in the store.